Pollution

July 07, 2010

Lots of lively news about the oceans and ocean life this week. Here's our Top 5 -- distressing, amusing and amazing:

The Perils of Prozac: British researchers at the University of Portsmouth believe shrimp are becoming more vulnerable to predators because their brain chemistry is being altered by rising levels of the anti-depressant Prozac that's flowing to the ocean through sewage treatment plants. Their findings were published in the journal Aquatic Toxicology.

Eat Thine Enemy: There's a big problem with invasive lionfish in the Caribbean, which threaten the survival of coral reefs. Now there's a solution, according to the Washington Post. Serve them up for supper! The invaders are being rounded up in "lionfish rodeos" and landing on menus. Bon appétit!

Offshore Oil Drilling, The Game: In the age of the internet, nothing ever disappears for good. That includes a 1970's-era board game, Offshore Oil Strike -- complete with British Petroleum logo, that turned up in a British toy museum. Highlights: A "hazard card" that cautions, "Blow-out! Rig damaged. Oil slick clean-up costs. Pay $1 million." Yeah, right. (Thanks to ProPublica for this.)

Talk to the Fishes: A New Zealand researcher has found evidence that fish can talk with one another, using grunts, chirps and pops among their communication tools. They may do so to attract mates, scare off predators or orient themselves in the ocean, according to newspaper reports shared by Discovery News.

The Mating of the Squid: New insights into the mating habits of giant deep-sea squid, Onykia ingens, courtesy of a BBC report of the discovery of what it terms "a super squid sex organ." The heroically tumescent squid was collected off Patagonia and helps unravel the mystery of how deep -water cephalopods impregnate their mates. Details are published in the Journal of Molluscan Studies.

June 08, 2010

It’s strange to be celebrating World Oceans Day in the midst of the biggest environmental catastrophe for our oceans in American history. Like the big spills in Santa Barbara and Prince William Sound, what’s happening in the Gulf is both a human tragedy and an ecological nightmare. And, of course, it’s only just begun.

The images of oiled birds and soiled shorelines are shocking, but we know from experience that we’ll only clean up a tiny fraction of what’s been released. The lingering effects of toxins in the water and the food web will last for decades, as they have in the sea otters and on the rocky shores of Prince William Sound. The chronic effects from long-term exposure to oil will affect the next generation of ocean life by altering its reproductive function and lifespan.

It will take years of research to understand the full impacts of the oil and dispersants on ocean food webs –- in the Gulf and beyond. In the meantime, the shrimpers and tackle shop owners along the Gulf shores don’t need decades to feel the pain; their daily lives and their livelihoods will change forever.

I’ve worked long and hard on behalf of wildlife and nature, and I’m often dismayed to see how much the public and our leaders focus on the human stories instead of the bigger picture of protecting the natural systems on which our lives depend. But this time, I have to agree. The biggest tragedy is a human story.

But it’s not what you think.

It’s not about the tragic loss of human lives in the accident, or the vast economic impacts, or the lost ways of life. The tragedy is that we all stood by –- citizens, government, industry –- and figured that everything was under control. Meanwhile, we extended our reach deeper and deeper, into riskier and riskier waters, in oceans whose health is already under siege.

We have the opportunity, right now, to come to our senses, and to do the right thing on behalf of our oceans, that sustain us in SO many ways.

In 1969, a blowout on a drilling platform in the Santa Barbara Channel released more than 3 million gallons of oil into the ocean. The spill coated a stretch of the California coastline in thick sludge. It killed thousands of seabirds, and countless other creatures. As a native Californian, I remember the day well. For the first time, I realized that something I had taken for granted could be taken away. And, if this happened, I’d only have myself to blame.

That dark day served as a wake-up call to the nation about the fragile nature of our environment, and its importance to the well-being of all life on Earth. The spill catalyzed the biggest environmental movement our country has ever seen, compelling lawmakers to enact scores of landmark laws: the National Environmental Policy Act, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Coastal Zone Management Act, and the National Marine Sanctuaries Act.

Today, these laws form the foundation of our system of environmental protection. It’s hard to imagine where we’d be without them.

Forty years after the environmental movement began, it’s time for a rebirth. Now is thetime to usher in a new era of conservation.

Though oil spills make headlines, it’s the chronic, long-terms threats like overfishing, non-point source pollution and coastal development that have much bigger impacts on our oceans. Oil spills -- no matter how large -- pale in comparison to the effects of carbon pollution that’s causing ocean warming and acidification.

For all our hard work, it’s obvious that we haven’t done enough to stem the continued decline in ocean health. Nearly a decade ago, the two ocean commissions laid out a clear blueprint for ocean policy reforms, and we’ve taken some baby steps in implementing their recommendations. Now, with the whole nation focused on our oceans and coasts, we need to put these ideas into action.

For starters, we need to face up to the risks of offshore oil drilling, especially in deep areas and the Arctic where we are in no way ready to respond to a spill. We need to tighten regulations and put in place effective government oversight.

More to the point, we must recognize that we can’t drill our way out of our dependence on foreign oil. We simply cannot trade the health of our oceans and coasts for a few more barrels of oil. More drilling is not the answer. Rather, we need to get in gear and support renewable energy, create green jobs, stimulate our economy, and safeguard our environment.

Next, we must immediately invest in learning more about our oceans.We need a massive investment in ocean ecosystem science and technology. When my father founded the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute 20 years ago, he was appalled at the state of technology investment to explore and understand the deep sea. The need remains, so we’ll have the information to manage our oceans as integrated living systems. The oil spill is a grim reminder of how we’re "flying blind" as to where to direct immediate cleanup and restoration efforts, not to mention understanding the impact of oil pollution or dispersants on all ocean life.

To achieve these goals, we need to create a national ocean policy, to better align federal agencies toward a common goal of achieving healthy oceans. In the wake of the Santa Barbara spill, the U.S. enacted environmental protection laws focused on land, air, and water. It’s now time to articulate a comprehensive policy for oceans and coasts. I commend the Obama Administration for substantial steps taken to develop this policy.

Last but not least, we can pay for these measures -– and more –- by creating an Ocean Investment Fund, using lease revenues, mitigation funds and other user-generated funding. It’s time we linked the resource fees to the resource itself by devoting a bigger portion of ocean revenue to its appropriate use – protecting and restoring our productive oceans and coasts.

I said we can succeed because we’ve done it before. There’s also another reason.

At the Monterey Bay Aquarium, I get to walk into our exhibit galleries daily and see people every day falling in love with the kelp forest or the sea otters or the seahorses. Our visitors leave with a commitment to taking action on the ocean’s behalf -– using a Seafood Watch pocket guide, sharing materials with their schools, joining as members, or bringing friends back to learn more.

I believe that people everywhere are seeking a common vision of a sustainable future on Earth, one that’s practical, attainable and in which they can play a part. Aquariums can support people around the world who yearn for reasons to hope, and give them guidance about ways to make a difference for our oceans -– as our incredible team at the Monterey Bay Aquarium has tried to do.

Our oceans have provided each of us with so much meaning, so much joy. Let’s focus on doing a few really important things to safeguard their future, with the opportunity we have before us right now.

June 04, 2010

There's an unprecedented move afoot in the California legislature. A bill to ban single-use plastic bags in grocery stores in 2012 is one step closer to reality after it passed the Assembly on June 3 by a vote of 41-27.

The Governor says he's ready to sign it, as soon as it's approved by the California Senate. Although cities across the nation, including San Francisco, have already passed similar local measures, this would be the first statewide ban, perhaps leading the way for other states to follow suit.

This is not the first time this proposal has gone to the legislature in California, but this time, it looks as if the support is there to see it through. Thanks in part, no doubt, to countless organizations like ours who have been sharing concerns over the environmental impacts of plastic bags on our environment. Not to mention of course that in the current climate of a catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf, many of us are mindful of the other uses for petroleum.

If you're still not convinced that plastic pollution and other marine debris in our oceans is an issue, check out this incredible slideshow that really speaks for itself. "In the belly of the whale" there were over 33 pieces of plastic bags!

April 30, 2010

What's the future of offshore energy development in the United States? Two visions are on view this week, in stark contrast.

In the Gulf of Mexico, oil is gushing at a rate of up to 5,000 barrels a day from an undersea well following an explosion and fire on a drilling platform. The oil is now washing ashoreon the Louisiana coast, threatening wildlife refuges, commercial fisheries and popular beaches -- including nesting beaches for the Kemp's ridley: the world's most endangered sea turtle.

BP, which owns the well, faces billions of dollars in losses -- and a significant blow to its "Beyond Petroleum" image as an emerging green energy company. Politicians are quickly rethinking support for expanded offshore oil development in U.S. waters.

Fifteen hundred miles away, the story was much different. In Massachusetts, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar gave the federal green light to the nation's largest offshore wind energy farm. The controversial project off Cape Cod could eventually generate enough electricity to power 200,000 homes and businesses in Massachusetts -- and spark similar clean-energy developments around the country (and the green jobs that come with them).

November 05, 2009

Good news today for ocean wildlife, here at home in the United States and overseas in Cambodia.

In the U.S., Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced a new pilot program -- backed up with money -- to protect coral reefs in Puerto Rico from the impacts of sediment and nutrient runoff. Similar pilot projects are planned to protect reefs in Florida, Hawaii, the U.S. Virgin Islands and in Pacific Islands under U.S. jurisdiction.

As is true everywhere, community involvement is essential. So too is government action, and part of the success story is action by the Cambodian government to prohibit fishing for or trading of seahorses.

You don't have to go to Cambodia to help seahorses. If you're a California resident, go to our Take Action page and urge Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to support creation of marine protected areas in southern California that will protect essential habitat for many species, including Pacific seahorses.

September 02, 2009

Not too many surprises, just confirmation that there's an obscene amount of plastic debris floating in the ocean, causing a great deal of harm to marine life that confuses plastic with food.

While they expedition team was at sea, new research found that it's not just debris that's a problem. Turns out the plastic decomposes in seawater, leaving behind a soup of toxic chemicals that poses an additional set of problems for marine life.

It's a wake-up call to deal with how we use plastics. Here at Monterey Bay Aquarium, our cafe has eliminated all plastic straws and disposable beverage cups, and switched to plant-based materials for "plastic" food containers. We're reducing the amount of disposable plastic used elsewhere -- including encouragement for our vendors not to use plastic shrink-wrap on products they ship to us.

August 21, 2009

We blog as a way to inspire conservation of the oceans. At the same time, we're not Pollyannas, painting a rosy picture regardless of what's going on.

So, a couple pieces of grim news today, having to do with two significant types of pollution in the ocean and fresh water: mercury and plastic.

A new study published by the U.S. Geological Survey found mercury in every single fish tested over a seven-year period, in every one of the nearly 300 streams sampled by USGS scientists throughout the United States. No exceptions.

The Environmental Protection Agency considers mercury a neurotoxin; the new study found that one-quarter of the fish sampled had mercury levels in their tissues above the threshold considered safe by the EPA. Main sources of the mercury include mining operations and coal-burning power plants.

On to plastics. In a report presented at the American Chemical Society this week, researchers led by a team from Japan's Nihon University announced that plastics -- previously thought to last nearly forever in the environment -- in fact will decompose fairly rapidly. When they do, they release potentially toxic substances into the water.

There are billions of pieces of plastic in existence, washing down streams and into the ocean -- an estimated 150,000 tons a year. Much has accumulated in what's now called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a plastic-filled region in the north-central Pacific that may cover an area twice the size of the state of Texas.

The toxics, including bisphenol A and PS oligomer, are known to disrupt hormone function in animals, and seriously affect reproductive systems.

November 14, 2007

As members of the Oiled Wildlife Care Network, Monterey Bay Aquarium's aviculturist (bird) and sea otter teams are trained to respond to an oil spill emergency, such as the one which occurred in San Francisco Bay last week.

Aquarium staff is currently working with rescued seabirds at the Wildlife Center in Fairfield. They brought a donation from the aquarium for those birds lucky enough to survive their ordeal; white bait (fish) and 380 lbs of krill.

The aquarium is also on standby to accommodate wildlife in need of temporary homes following treatment. Some birds may prove to be non-releasable; the aquarium is still home to seven seabirds (Common Murres) from a 1986 oil spill off the Central California Coast that killed over 10,000 seabirds. We're pleased that at this time, there are no reports of oiled sea otters, but it's a sobering reminder of the precarious position we stand in with only 3,000 California Sea Otters ranging along such a narrow stretch of the California coastline.

As the extent of the spill became clear, wildlife organizations and state agencies were inundated with calls from people desperate to help. Many were turned away, resulting in frustration and disappointment. Happily this situation has resolved, somewhat, and there are things you can do, some as bizarre as donating your hair! Check out this amazing story about hair mats soaking up oil in the Bay this week.

- Sign a petition to ask Congress to consider banning the use of bunker oil that spilled in the bay.

- Join the aquarium's Ocean Action Team. We'll let you know when there's important ocean legislation you can take action on, or other ways to get involved to help, such as beach cleanups, or tips for reducing your environmental footprint.